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Not to be a male chauvinist, but from the outside looking in – who has it better than Hugh Hefner does? Well first let me dispel the ludicrous notion that some men are not interested in other young, beautiful women. Yes, I am sorry to say ladies even your wonderful, selfless, caring, perfect flower-toting husband has a wandering eye. Every healthy (even perhaps unwell) man from your brother, father, husband and Larry King has heart palpitations when some beautiful, young female traipses into ones’ view.

Now having proclaimed the aforementioned (most men will declare “I’m stating the obvious.”), lets look at and examine the remarkable life of Hugh Marston Hefner born April 9, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois. He is currently 84 and will be 85 in 4 months (here is another stroke of luck; it appears Hefner has great genes as well – his father lived to 102 and his mother 80).

Hugh was fortunate enough to be raised in an upper middle class family; at the very least very educated family – his parents were teachers. From early on his peers and teachers always thought well of the young lad, he was looked upon as a prodigy and whiz kid earning superlative marks in elementary and high school. Though shy, reserved, and having a slight lisp, he was always the kid who ranked at the top of his class and was renowned for having a knack for creative writing.

Hefner was a quick study. He started his career as a journalist at a military magazine (good trivia question – name the military magazine he worked at? I’ll pay pal $20 to anyone who can answer this) he then went on to finish his degree and it took him only 2&1/2 years to get his B.A. in psychology & creative writing. He went to graduate school but then did the “the old Bill Gates and Harvard deal” which simply means f*** this school s**t and get out into the real world and make some $$$.

His first real paying job was with Esquire working as a copywriter. Legend has it, he quit because the company refused to give him a $5 raise. Whether this is true or not is not that important but what he did next absolutely WAS. Hefner took out a loan, mortgaged off whatever he owned, even borrowed $1000 from his mother, raised about $8000 – $10,000 from about 40 investors, and launched without question the greatest, unique, cosmopolitan, and controversial magazine ever to be presented before men’s (and women’s) eyes. PLAYBOY Magazine!

This was no ordinary magazine. In fact, it was a magazine that featured things that had never, ever been published before. The publication had Nude women with a naked Marilyn Monroe on the cover (BTW Hefner never met Monroe, he bought the 1949 nude calendar shot) for its very first issue. It showed naked women but it was classy (many feminists believe that Playboy has been more harmful and destructive to women than the real hardcore magazines such as Hustler. What with Playboy all the airbrushing and the only showing of pubic hair, not a pimple on her bottom; whereas the woman in Hustler is shown in very crass perhaps “realistic” shots. They actually show the vagina the way it really looks in all its beauty, awe and wonder. Therefore, the feminists proclaim that the women in playboy do not exist in real life and lead men to view women unrealistically and the woman in Hustler is the real deal, however the Hustler women are being exploited. To which I actually whole-heartedly agree. It is funny because I am sure there are some young people who probably have never heard of Hustler magazine. The internet has destroyed the nudie magazine and now they show everything. No more mystery. Which incidentally will be another blog – “the mystery is gone.” I never saw a naked woman until I was sixteen. One of my friend’s dads subscribed to Playboy and there you go – I was awestruck, I was excited beyond all expression or description in words, I was utterly and irrevocably forever in love with those beautiful beyond belief GIRLS!

In addition to the stunning nude women in Hefner’s magazine, it also provided reading material. Moreover, the material was not garbage. Some have even gone so far as to say that the writing was literary. Arthur C. Clarke had written short stories for the publication. Other notable writers who contributed their writing talents included Ian Fleming, Margaret Atwood and P.G. Wodehouse just to name a few. My goodness the greatest writer stylist of the 20th century, Vladimir Nabokov, granted Playboy an interview. Playboy was respectable; it was stylish, chic (no seedy perverts with trench coats), it was acceptable. Additionally female celebrities were paid millions of dollars to merely shed their clothes and pose and it was clearly understood that she would be shown in only the most tasteful manner.

So now we come to what we have been awaiting . WHADAWETHINK? Is Hugh Hefner a jerk? Is he just another sleazy pornographer? On the other hand, maybe he is an astute businessperson – a brilliant Entrepreneur. He also gets involved with philanthropy. He also is obviously a staunch advocate for the 1st amendment and Freedom of Speech.

It is your turn now people. WHADAWETHINK ?

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Jed York, the owner of the San Francisco 49ers organization fired Mike Singletary today for the simple reason that the team played lousy football all year long (Yanking his QB’s and screaming at Troy Smith on the sidelines certainly didn’t help his case but I think he would have been terminated regardless.) There were somewhat high expectations for the 49ers and it was supposed to be a cakewalk for them especially when you consider the fact that they’re in such a second-rate division. The St. Louis Rams are in 1st place with a record of (7 – 8) and it’s possible that the Rams may win their division with 2 fewer victories than losses. Just think about that for a moment? A team that loses more games than they win is rewarded with a playoff spot. I don’t even believe that a franchise that plays .500 football should make the playoffs. (The problem is that there are too many divisions and too many playoff games; but that will never change because it’s all about MONEY – but that’s another blog.)

I want to talk about how much impact the head coach of a football team (or any sport, really) has on an organization as well as galvanize discussion on whether or not the skipper really makes a significant difference with how a team performs and/or to “get down to brass tacks” whether or not the head coach is a crucial determining factor between winning and losing.

I personally think that the head coach position is a prodigiously overrated undertaking. For example I believe Tom Coughlin is perhaps the best head coach you will ever get. He’s hard working, pays meticulous attention to detail (analyzes every single aspect of the game) and he’s a very strict disciplinarian. But, the bottom line is Coughlin is not rushing 100+ yards a game, catching touchdown scoring passes or marching his team down the field in the last two minutes of a game and kicking the game –winning field goal. But, if the kick is good, Coughlin is a genius and if he misses, Coughlin is a bum. I live in New York and one can only look back to 2006 when the New York Giants were having a miserable year and were in the midst of a terrible losing streak. It seemed nothing could go right for the Giants. Tiki Barber and Jeremy Shockey were pointing the finger at Coughlin – and everyone I mean EVERYONE was begging the Giants’ organization to fire him. Fans were chanting it at games, the New York newspapers spilled more ink than one thought possible imploring for his termination and the sports pundits (Mike and the Mad dog) couldn’t get enough of his hide. Everybody wanted Coughlin gone. Well, lo and behold, as we all know the following year (2007 – 2008) the Giants had one of the best years in the history of their franchise and ultimately ended up beating the unbeatable and undefeated New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl!

The bottom line is of course you need a head coach and certainly a team must have coordinators (a great coordinator may play a bigger role than the head coach) but it’s the players who win or lose the games NOT the coach. You don’t need a great coach, you need a competent coach. A head coach is simply a man who does his job – nothing more, nothing less. I’ll leave you with this. How did the “great”, ‘Can lead any team to victory” How did Bill Parcells do with the Dallas Cowboys 2003 -2005. He was (5-11) each of the three years he served as head coach; a combined record of (15-33).

Well, I’ve shared some thoughts with you. Now more importantly – Whadawethink.

If you like this site and you want to support WHADAWETHINK – click onto the widget shown above and shop at Amazon. Note: Any purchase at all will help WHADAWETHINK, so you don’t have to purchase the exact product displayed in the ad. Thanks and keep coming back.